Nerinx Hall Legally Blonde: The Musical

On the eve of November 10th, 2012 Nerinx Hall surprised the masses by producing the critically acclaimed Legally Blonde: The Musical. The musical focuses on Ms. Elle Woods, a typical Malibu “Barbie” girl who decides to go to Harvard Law School solely for the purpose of following her “one true love,” but ends up getting something much more out of the highly esteemed university. Nerinx Hall produced another fabulous show, utilizing every resource available to them.

The musical revolves around Ms. “Legally Blonde” herself, Elle Woods. Ms. Woods (portrayed by Berklea Going) lit up the stage with her fantastic voice, fiery attitude and stylish clothes. Going portrayed the perky blonde perfectly. Going never broke character and related to other characters with extreme believability. Playing opposite of Going’s role were actually two characters. Warner Huntington III (Zach Erhardt) and Emmett Forrest (Ben Diamond) playing Elle Woods’ love interests, with the latter winning Elle’s heart. Erhardt had a superb voice and moved fluidly onstage, but he sometimes fell out of character. It also seemed that he overacted his role at times. Ben Diamond portrayed the awkward Law student with confidence and energy. There were times where some sung notes were not correct, but Diamond made up for this throughout the entire show.

The “Greek” chorus enhanced the scenes in which they took part. Their voices blended well together and their dancing was never out of sync. The entire cast also performed well together when onstage. Freshman Claire Blasé expressed exponential energy when onstage with the ensemble. Her dancing made her a highlight of the large company numbers, and her energy was consistent throughout the entire show. Other standouts in the ensemble included senior Megg Lorbert, Mary McLafferty, and Eva Beaudoin.

The technical aspects of the show ran seamlessly. Light changes occurred fluidly and the colors seemed appropriate for the mood of each scene. The stage crew that moved set pieces on and offstage moved silently and fluidly and it seemed that they were like “ninjas.” The sound was crystal clear, with no feedback from the speakers and not one sound cue was missed.

Overall, the performance witnessed at the Nerinx Hall theatre was truly a spectacle to behold. Hopefully, each member of the audience left the theatre with just one phrase on their lips: “Ohmigod you guys!”